Krzysztof Jozef Nykiel (born 28 February 1965) is the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, who was appointed to the position by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on 26 June 2012. He had previously served as an official of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

. Nykiel was born in Osjaków,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, in 1965. He was a student of the major seminary in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

in 1984, he received the title of "Master )in Theology" at the Theological Academy in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1990. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 9 June 1990 for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Łódź The Archdiocese of Łódź () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Łódź in Poland. The archdiocese covers the central area of Łódź Voivodeship. As of 2016 weekly mass attendance was 23.4% of the archdi ...

. After pastoral work he was sent to Rome and served as an official of the Pontifical Council for Health Care from 1995 to 2002. During this time in Rome he studied for and received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in 2001. He was created

Chaplain of His Holiness Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

in 2001 and

Prelate of Honour of His Holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor (typically abbreviated 'Mgr') and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

in 2010. From 1 July 2002 he served as an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He served as an Adjunct Secretary of the International Commission of Inquiry on Medjugorje from 18 December 2009. He also served as a member of the College of Prelate Clerics of the

Apostolic Camera The Apostolic Camera (), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the States of the Church and ...

from 30 December 2010 and from 5 January 2011 serves as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. He says of his role as regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary: "We are right to call it the Mercifulness Tribunal because its main mission is helping people in the process of reconciliation with God and with the Church, who are in a situation impossible to reconcile with their eternal salvation." He carries out pastoral Passoscuro in the Diocese of Porto-Santa Rufina. He was postulator process of beatification and canonization of the Venerable Servant of God Wanda N. Malczewska and Sister Maria Julitta Ritz. He knows the Polish language, Latin, Italian, English, German, Spanish and Russian. He has spoken in praise of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, crediting the pontiff with getting more Catholics to attend confession. On 1 May 2024 he was appointed Titular Bishop of Velia and will be consecrated at a later date.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nykiel, Krzysztof Jozef Living people 1965 births Polish Roman Catholics Polish Roman Catholic priests Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Officials of the Roman Curia Apostolic Penitentiary Bishops appointed by Pope Francis